9 of the Best YA Vampire Books

The friendship between Lissa and Rose is the real lynchpin of this book and the whole series. Despite their different backgrounds (and Lissa’s mortal vampire status compared to Rose’s immortal), they are bonded through their shared trauma. When they’re both sent back to St. Vladimir’s Academy, the danger that Lissa is in from the Strigoi (immortal vampires) is still everyday, and Rose is on guard to protect her as well, despite the fact that Lissa is her guardian. There’s a lot of mythology in this series that’s so fun to delve into, so the Vampire Academy books would be perfect for a marathon weekend read.

High school filled with vampires can be just as annoying as regular, non-paranormal high school. When Beth Frasier’s junior year gets derailed by a group of vampire jocks, she cooks up a plan for revenge. Along with her friends, Beth focuses on reclaiming her life and goals with the white-hot intensity that only a teen girl could have. The flippant attitude towards the existence of vampires as a part of regular high school is super fun to read, and this is a great read to go between two intense vampire dramas.

The title was enough to draw me in to this fantastic collection, and the stories do not disappoint. With stories from bestselling authors like Mark Oshiro, Julie Murphy, and Samira Ahmed, this collection runs the gamut from touching to dramatic to kind of silly. Placing vampires in the context of social media and trying to rebel against their circumstances, these writers all take creative approaches to our favorite undead friends. The queer vampire stories also pull the use of vampirism as a queer desire subtext and make it the text of the character’s experience.

For a good dose of mystical energy, go to Fulton Heights. Our protagonist August Pfeiffer hates living in a vampire town, but he gets drawn into the supernatural drama of the town because of a hot vampire boy who warns him of coming danger. The small-town paranormal mystery is great and the world-building that Roehrig does in this novel is super engaging. Auggie is a hilarious narrator and is a great point-of-view to follow because of his general distaste for the supernatural happenings of the town.

Although the premise of this book is a very “fish are friends, not food” vibe, it goes in unexpected directions and the story gets engrossing quickly. Fifteen-year-old Nina hates the Reformed Vampire Support Group her mother makes her attend, and she really doesn’t have a ton of interest in reforming to more properly live in a world that isn’t built for her. When one of the group members is killed by a silver bullet of unknown origin, the group must rally to find out what happened and protect themselves. It’s a murder mystery with comedy and bite. (I had to do one bite joke. I feel bad, but not bad enough to take out the bite joke.)

In a continuation of her Blue Bloods series, the members of the coven are all grown up now and fighting the forces of darkness in Manhattan. The new head of the Blue Bloods Coven, Oliver finds his human girlfriend murdered on the night before the Four Hundred Ball. The head of the vampire police, the Venators, comes after Oliver as the prime suspect. To solve the mystery, Oliver has to dive deep into vampire lore and dig up age-old secrets. It’s a great continuation of the characters from Blue Bloods and puts them in complicated new situations and forces them to address the complicated history of the paranormal world they inhabit.

It’s a Buffy book, so I couldn’t avoid including it. White draws out the mythology of the Buffy universe and takes us to the Watcher’s Academy, following twin sisters Nina and Artemis who are being trained as Slayers. In a terrifying turn, Nina is chosen as the Slayer, but she will be the last one. As she trains with her Watcher Leo, she encounters demons and monsters that feel like they’d stepped out of the cutting room floor of a Buffy episode. Nina’s story is just as difficult and engaging as Buffy’s, and it’s a wonderful extension of the beloved series.

In 1872, Celine flees from Paris to New Orleans and finds a vibrant new life in this city ruled by the dead. In addition to the spooky historical setting, Ahdieh weaves romance, mystery, and suspense through Celine’s discoveries of the darkness of New Orleans. She is taken in by the Ursuline convent with six other girls, creating space of discussions of their goals and desires. When bodies that appear to have been exsanguinated are found, it seems to be linked to the secret society La Cour des Lions. There’s also a forbidden love element for Celine with the head of the society, Sébastien. The first book of this series is definitely a slow burn, but it’s a confident way to start a series, and it sets up a great background for how the rest of the books will unfold. The descriptions of New Orleans and the period decor and clothing are a joy to read as well.

Adapted from the sensational web series, this book follows the complex relationship between vampire Carmilla and her college roommate Laura. As disappearances start to happen at their college, Laura starts to play detective and Carmilla remains cagey. Her snark is also grating to the sweet and determined Laura, so she starts to delve even deeper to the mystery around her nocturnal roommate. Although the web series is perfect, this novel allows us to get even more of Laura’s thoughts and feelings and draws out more of the mystery. The original Carmilla was about a mysterious woman of the night preying on other young women, and through this adaptation (the web series and the book) it has become one of the best explorations of queer desire through vampires.